Ranger's Apprentice : Reading Ruins Of Gorlan
by Cooldude3074
Summary: The RA cast reacts to the first 11 books in the series. Might react to the ones after that with the slightly different cast. I only own the reactions the parts in bold rightly belong to John Flanagan.
1. Prologue

**All rights go to John Flanagan**

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Will, Halt and Gilan were riding to Castle Araluen due to sudden notice from the king, they didn't know much besides it was about some books. Halt wasn't pleased by the idea but Will and Gilan seemed somewhat interested.

As they arrived they were surprised by so many familiar faces, there was Alyss, Baron Arald, Horace, Cassandra (or Evenlyn as some people call her), Crowley, Pauline, Jenny, Rodney and unsurprisingly; King Duncan was also there.

"Ah, now that everyone's here I suppose I should tell you what this is about." Duncan exclaimed.

"We know it's about some books but what are they about?" Alyss asked.

"I'm not really sure but I received some books last night, apparently they reveal stuff about the past, mainly to do with Will." Duncan explained.

Will frowned "Why me?"

"Probably because your reputation is as bad as Halt's these days" Crowley snorted

Unable to think of a comeback, Will nodded and conceded the point.

"Well then, who's reading first?" Cassandra asked, eager to start reading.

For a few seconds no one said anything but naturally Pauline offered to do it, frowning as she opened to the prologue.

 **Morgarath, the Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, former Baron of Gorlan in the Kingdom of Araluen, looked out over his bleak, rainswept domain and, for perhaps the thousandth time, cursed.** Cassandra and Will all shivered as they remembered their encounters with him in Celtica. Halt just growled at the mention of his name as he had a deep hatred for him.

 **This was all that was left to him now - a jumble of rugged granite cliffs, tumbled boulders and icy mountains. Of sheer gorges and steep narrow passes. Of gravel and rock, with never a tree or a sign of green to break the monotony.** "Drama, drama" Gilan drawled, trying to lighten the atmosphere, earning chuckles from most people in the room, as Alyss and Pauline smiled, ever the diplomats.

 **Even though it had been fifteen years since he had been driven back into this forbidding realm that had become his prison, he could still remember the pleasant green glades and thickly forested hills of his former fief. The streams filled with fish and the fields rich with crops and game. Gorlan had been a beautiful, living place. The Mountains of Rain and Night were dead and desolate.** "Is that such a bad thing?" questioned Halt.

 **A platoon of Wargals was drilling in the castle yard below him. Morgarath watched them for a few seconds, listening to the guttural, rhythmic chant that accompanied all their movements. They were stocky, misshapen beings, with features that were halfway human, but with a long, brutish muzzle and fangs like a bear or a large dog.** "Horrible creatures." Horace murmured. "Agreed" everyone in the room chorused.

 **Avoiding all contact with humans, the Wargals had lived and bred in these remote mountains since ancient times. No one in living memory had ever set eyes upon one, but rumors and legends had persisted of a savage tribe of semi-intelligent beasts in the mountains. Morgarath, planning a revolt against the Kingdom of Araluen, had left Gorlan Fief to seek them out. If such creatures existed, they would give him an edge in the war that was to come.**

 **It took him months, but he eventually found them. Aside from their wordless chant, Wargals had no spoken language, relying on a primitive form of thought awareness for communication. But their minds were simple and their intellects basic. As a result, they had been totally susceptible to domination by a superior intelligence and willpower. Morgarath bent them to his will and they became the perfect army for him-ugly beyond nightmares, utterly pitiless and bound totally to his mental orders.** "He's quite sure of himself isn't he?" Rodney said disgraced. That's no way to run an army, the knights and Duncan thought.

 **Now, looking at them, he remembered the brightly dressed knights in glittering armor who used to compete in tourneys at Castle Gorlan, their silk-gowned ladies cheering them on and applauding their skills. Mentally comparing them to these black-furred, misshapen creatures, he cursed again.** "He's been doing that a lot hasn't he?" Gilan sneered

 **The Wargals, attuned to his thoughts, sensed his disturbance and stirred uncomfortably, pausing in what they were doing. Angrily, he directed them back to their drill and the chanting resumed.**

 **Morgarath moved away from the unglazed window, closer to the fire that seemed utterly incapable of dispelling the damp and chill from this gloomy castle. Fifteen years, he thought to himself again. Fifteen years since he had rebelled against the newly crowned King Duncan, a youth in his twenties. He had planned it all carefully as the old king's sickness progressed, banking on the indecision and confusion that would follow his death to split the other barons and give Morgarath his opportunity to seize the throne.**

"Good thing that didn't work out in the end" Alyss said, shaking her head in disgust at Morgarath. "Scary to think what would happen if it did" Will agreed, frowning as he tries to think what would of happened.

 **Secretly, he had trained his army of Wargals, massing them up here in the mountains, ready for the moment to strike. Then, in the days of confusion and grief following the king's death, when the barons traveled to Castle Araluen for the funeral rites, leaving their armies leaderless, he had attacked, overrunning the southeastern quarter of the kingdom in a matter of days, routing the confused, leaderless forces that tried to oppose him.**

 **Duncan, young and inexperienced, could never have stood against him. The kingdom was his for the taking. The throne was his for the asking.** "This is why you should never be overconfident, because it always results in failure" Halt explained. "How many times have we heard that I wonder?" Will grinned at Halt, who in turn just glared back at him.

 **Then Lord Northolt, the old king's supreme army commander, had rallied some of the younger barons into a loyal confederation, giving strength to Duncan's resolve and stiffening the wavering courage of the others. The armies had met at Hackham Heath, close by the Slipsunder River, and the battle swayed in the balance for five hours, with attack and counterattack and massive loss of life. The Slipsunder was a shallow river, but its treacherous reaches of quicksand and soft mud had formed an impassable barrier, protecting Morgarath's right flank.**

 **But then one of those gray-cloaked meddlers known as Rangers led a force of heavy cavalry across a secret ford ten kilometers upstream.**

Halt looked too smug at himself about this. Crowley thought, "It wasn't just your idea you know, Halt. And besides your reputation is bad enough" He added with a grin. Halt sneered at him, "I didn't see you helping back then" Crowley decided to shut up at this causing the others to laugh. **The armored horsemen appeared at the crucial moment of the battle and fell upon the rear of Morgarath's army.**

 **The Wargals, trained in the tumbled rocks of the mountains, had one weakness. They feared horses and could never stand against such a surprise cavalry attack. They broke, retreating to the narrow confines of Three Step Pass, and back to the Mountains of Rain and Night. Morgarath, his rebellion defeated, went with them.**

 **And here he had been exiled these fifteen years. Waiting, plotting, hating the men who had done this to him.**

"Why didn't we just kill him?" Halt wondered "It would of saved a lot of trouble". "Because we're all not as cold as you, Halt" Pauline said giving a look that told him not to take it further, Crowley didn't recognise this and agreed with Halt "He's right". "Well almost all of us" Pauline corrected her last statement, passing on the look to him, he took the point now.

 **Now, he thought, it was time for his revenge. His spies told him the kingdom had grown slack and complacent and his presence here was all but forgotten. The name Morgarath was a name of legend nowadays, a name mothers used to hush fractious children, threatening that if they did not behave, the black lord Morgarath would come for them.**

 **The time was ripe. Once again, he would lead his Wargals into an attack. But this time he would have allies. And this time he would sow the ground with uncertainty and confusion beforehand. This time none of those who conspired against him previously would be left alive to aid King Duncan.**

 **For the Wargals were not the only ancient, terrifying creatures he had found in these somber mountains. He had two other allies, even more fearsome-the dreadful beasts known as the Kalkara.** "They sound scary" Jenny said shivering at the thought of them. Will was about to agree but then saw Gilan comfort her and thought better of it.

 **The time was ripe to unleash them.**

"Chapter's done" Pauline announced. "Who's next to read?"

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I've seen a few of these and really liked them so I've tried to do one myself let me know what you think (I'm normally bad at openings).


	2. Chapter 1

"I'll read" Alyss said. Smiling at the book in front of her .

"Try to eat something, Will. Tomorrow is a big day, after all."

 **Jenny, blond, pretty and cheerful, -** Jenny smiled at this - **gestured toward Will's barely touched plate and smiled encouragingly at him. Will made an attempt to return the smile, but it was a dismal failure. He picked at the plate before him, piled high with his favorite foods. Tonight, his stomach knotted tight with tension and anticipation, he could hardly bring himself to swallow a bite.** The former wardmates groaned, knowing what was about to come up

 **Tomorrow would be a big day, he knew. He knew it all too well, in fact. Tomorrow would be the biggest day in his life, because tomorrow was the Choosing Day and it would determine how he spent the rest of his life.** "What's choosing day?" Cassandra asked. "It's when the castle wards turn 15 and apply for a craftmaster" Baran Arald answered. "Oh" She replied.

 **"Nerves, I imagine," said George, setting down his loaded fork and seizing the lapels of his jacket in a judicious manner. He was a thin, gangly and studious boy, fascinated by rules and regulations and with a penchant for examining and debating both sides of any question-sometimes at great length. "Dreadful thing, nervousness. It can just freeze you up so you can't think, can't eat, can't speak."** Everyone laughed at this, knowing what George could be like and at Alyss's fairly accurate impression of him.

 **"I'm not nervous," Will said quickly, noticing that Horace had looked up, ready to form a sarcastic comment.** The former wardmates glanced at each other, having a pretty good guess about what was to come next. Everyone else looked questioningly at them, guessing it wasn't the normal brotherly love relationship they'd expect, besides a few who knew about Will and Horace's past relationship.

 **George nodded several times, considering Will's statement. "On the other hand," he added, "a little nervousness can actually improve performance. It can heighten your perceptions and sharpen your reactions. So, the fact that you are worried, if, in fact, you are, is not necessarily something to be worried about, of itself-so to speak."** "And here I thought George used to be always nervous and never talked" Horace scoffed allowing a smile to show. Earning smiles and giggles from the former wardmates as they thought about it and realised he had a point.

 **In spite of himself, a wry smile touched Will's mouth. George would be a natural in the legal profession, he thought. He would almost certainly be the Scribemaster's choice on the following morning. Perhaps, Will thought, that was at the heart of his own problem. He was the only one of the wardmates who had any fears about the Choosing that would take place within twelve hours.**

 **"He ought to be nervous!" Horace scoffed. "After all, which Craftmaster is going to want him as an apprentice?"** Horace and Will winced at this. As Halt glared at Horace, but a kick from under the table by Pauline told him to let it pass

 **"I'm sure we're all nervous," Alyss said. She directed one of her rare smiles at Will. "We'd be stupid not to be."**

 **"Well, I'm not!" Horace said, then reddened as Alyss raised one eyebrow and Jenny giggled. "** So the raised eyebrow isn't a recent development I take it." Duncan asked unable to stop his smiling, earning raised eyebrow from Arald, Rodney, Alyss, Jenny, Horace, Halt and Will. The last twos being the best of course. As Cassandra giggled at them. The tension gone from Horace's remark.

 **It was typical of Alyss, Will thought. He knew that the tall, graceful girl had already been promised a place as an apprentice by Lady Pauline, head of Castle Redmont's Diplomatic Service. Her pretense that she was nervous about the following day, and her tact in refraining from pointing out Horace's gaffe, showed that she was already a diplomat of some skill. "** Only of some skill? That's harsh Will" Alyss said frowning, although everyone could easily tell that she was joking. Will grinned at her, "Must have been nerves" he replied.

 **Jenny, of course, would gravitate immediately to the castle kitchens, domain of Master Chubb, Redmont's head chef. He was a man renowned throughout the kingdom for the banquets served in the castle's massive dining hall. Jenny loved food and cooking, and her easy going nature and unfailing good humor would make her an invaluable staff member in the turmoil of the castle kitchens.**

 **Battleschool would be Horace's choice. Will glanced at his wardmate now, hungrily tucking into the roast turkey, ham and potatoes that he had heaped onto his plate.** "So that isn't a new thing then" Cassandra said, smiling at Horace, who flushed. **Horace was big for his age and a natural athlete. The chances that he would be refused were virtually nonexistent. Horace was exactly the type of recruit that Sir Rodney looked for in his warrior apprentices. Strong, athletic, fit. And, thought Will a trifle sourly, not too bright.** The knight in the room mocked gasped at Will. "What do you have against us?" Rodney asked as Will couldn't think of an answer. **Battleschool was the path to knighthood for boys like Horace-born commoners but with the physical abilities to serve as knights of the kingdom.**

 **Which left Will. What would his choice be? More importantly, as Horace had pointed out, what Craftmaster would accept him as an apprentice?** "Selling yourself short as usual" Halt said, as Will flushed. "Well I was almost right" Will replied grinning.

 **For Choosing Day was the pivotal point in the life of the castle wards. They were orphan children raised by the generosity of Baron Arald, the Lord of Redmont Fief. For the most part, their parents had died in the service of the fief, and the Baron saw it as his responsibility to care for and raise the children of his former subjects-and to give them an opportunity to improve their station in life wherever possible.**

 **Choosing Day provided that opportunity.** "Don't you think that's a bit dramatic?" Gilan wondered, but the glared from Horace, Alyss, Jenny and Will told him they thought otherwise.

 **Each year, castle wards turning fifteen could apply to be apprenticed to the masters of the various crafts that served the castle and its people. Ordinarily, craft apprentices were selected by dint of their parents' occupations or influence with the Craftmasters. The castle wards usually had no such influence and this was their chance to win a future for themselves.**

 **Those wards who weren't chosen, or for whom no openings could be found, would be assigned to farming families in the nearby village, providing farm labor to raise the crops and animals that fed the castle inhabitants. It was rare for this to happen, Will knew. The Baron and his Craftmasters usually went out of their way to fit the wards into one craft or another. But it could happen and it was a fate he feared more than anything.**

 **Horace caught his eye now and gave him a smug smile. " Still planning on applying for Battleschool, Will?" he asked through a mouthful of turkey and potatoes. "Better eat something then. You'll need to build yourself up a little"** "He had a point you know Will, you did look starved back then" "And he still does" Horace agreed, although he isn't as bad as he was back in the ward, it was nothing compared to Horace's build. "True" Will acknowledged smiling.

 **He snorted with laughter and Will glowered at him. A few weeks previously, Horace had overheard Will confiding to Alyss that he desperately wanted to be selected for Battleschool, and he had made Will's life a misery ever since, pointing out on every possible occasion that Will's slight build was totally unsuited for the rigors of Battleschool training.**

 **The fact that Horace was probably right only made matters worse. Where Horace was tall and muscular, Will was small and wiry. He was agile and fast and surprisingly strong, but he simply didn't have the size that he knew was required of Battleschool apprentices. He'd hoped against hope for the past few years that he would have what people called his "growing spurt" before the Choosing Day came around. But it had never happened and now the day was nearly here.**

 **As Will said nothing, Horace sensed that he had scored a verbal hit. This was a rarity in their turbulent relationship.** "That's still the case today" Horace said. **Over the past few years, he and Will had clashed repeatedly. Being the stronger of the two, Horace usually got the better of Will,** "That would also still be the same today, if nothing changed" Will added to Horace's last statement **although very occasionally Will's speed and agility allowed him to get in a surprise kick or a punch and then escape before Horace could catch him.**

 **But while Horace generally had the best of their physical clashes, it was unusual for him to win any of their verbal encounters. Will's wit was as agile as the rest of him and he almost always managed to have the last word. In fact, it was this tendency that often led to trouble between them: Will was yet to learn that having the last word was not always a good idea. Horace decided now to press his advantage.**

 **"You need muscles to get into Battleschool, Will. Real muscles," he said, glancing at the others around the table to see if anyone disagreed. The other wards, uncomfortable at the growing tension between the two boys, concentrated on their plates." Particularly between the ears,"** Everyone laughed at that **Will replied and, unfortunately, Jenny couldn't refrain from giggling. Horace's face flushed and he started to rise from his seat. But Will was quicker and he was already at the door before Horace could disentangle himself from his chair. He contented himself with hurling a final insult after his retreating wardmate." That's right! Run away, Will No-Name! You're a no-name and nobody will want you as an apprentice!" In the anteroom outside, Will heard the parting sally and felt blood flush to his cheeks. It was the taunt he hated most,** Although Halt had stopped glaring at Horace from his earlier remark, he felt the need to do it again as Horace tried to hide under the table as he was so low in his seat. "Halt, it's in the past and I've forgiven him." Halt stopped, looking mildly surprised at first and Pauline nodded approvingly at Will. **although he had tried never to let Horace know that, sensing that he would provide the bigger boy with a weapon if he did.**

 **The truth was, nobody knew Will's second name. Nobody knew who his parents had been. Unlike his yearmates, who had lived in the fief before their parents had died and whose family histories were known, Will had appeared, virtually out of nowhere, as a newborn baby. He had been found, wrapped in a small blanket and placed in a basket, on the steps of the ward building fifteen years ago. A note had been attached to the blanket, reading simply:**

 **His mother died in childbirth.** Halt frowned at this **His father died a hero. Please care for him.**

 **His name is Will.**

 **That year, there had been only one other ward. Alyss's father was a cavalry lieutenant who had died in the battle at Hackham Heath, when Morgarath's Wargal army had been defeated and driven back to the mountains. Alyss's mother, devastated by her loss, succumbed to a fever some weeks after giving birth. So there was plenty of room in the Ward for the unknown child, and Baron Arald was, at heart, a kindly man. "** That's true" the fomer wardmates chorused. Arald smiled. **Even though the circumstances were unusual, he had given permission for Will to be accepted as a ward of Castle Redmont. It seemed logical to assume that, if the note were true, Will's father had died in the war against Morgarath, and since Baron Arald had taken a leading part in that war, he felt duty bound to honor the unknown father's sacrifice.**

 **So Will had become a Redmont ward, raised and educated by the Baron's generosity. As time passed, the others had gradually joined him and Alyss until there were five in their year group. But while the others had memories of their parents or, in Alyss's case, people who had known them and who could tell her about them, Will knew nothing of his past.**

 **That was why he had invented the story that had sustained him throughout his childhood in the Ward. And, as the years passed and he added detail and color to the story, he eventually came to believe it himself.** Will grimaced, knowing how untrue it really was.

 **His father, he knew, had died a hero's death. So it made sense to create a picture of him as a hero—a knight warrior in full armor, fighting against the Wargal hordes, cutting them down left and right until eventually he was overcome by sheer weight of numbers. Will had pictured the tall figure so often in his mind, seeing every detail of his armor and his equipment but never being able to visualize his face.**

 **As a warrior, his father would expect him to follow in his footsteps.** "Why does everyone want to follow in their father's footsteps?" Rodney wondered as everyone shrugged. "I didn't" Gilan said looking proud, Halt noticing this said "Well you were just weird. He took the point. **That was why selection for Battleschool was so important to Will. And that was why the more unlikely it became that he would be selected, the more desperately he clung to the hope that he might.**

 **He exited from the Ward building into the darkened castle yard. The sun was long down and the torches placed every twenty meters or so on the castle walls shed a flickering, uneven light. He hesitated a moment. He would not return to the Ward and face Horace's continued taunts. To do so would only lead to another fight between them-a fight that Will knew that he would probably lose. George would probably try to analyze the situation for him, looking at both sides of the question and thoroughly confusing the issue. Alyss and Jenny might try to comfort him, he knew-Alyss particularly since they had grown up together.** Everyone from the ward shook their heads knowing how clueless they were. **But at the moment he didn't want their sympathy and he couldn't face Horace's taunts, so he headed for the one place where he knew he could find solitude.**

 **The huge fig tree growing close by the castle's central tower had often afforded him a haven.** "You did love that tree" Alyss remarked Will grinned "It was very nice tree" **Heights held no fear for Will and he climbed smoothly into the tree, continuing long after another might have stopped, until he was in the lighter branches at the very top-branches that swayed and dipped under his weight. In the past, he had often escaped from Horace up here. The bigger boy couldn't match Will's speed in the tree and he was unwilling to follow as high as this. Will found a convenient fork and wedged himself in it, his body giving slightly to the movement of the tree as the branches swayed in the evening breeze. Below, the foreshortened figures of the watch made their rounds of the castle yard.**

 **He heard the door of the Ward building open and, glancing down, saw Alyss emerge, looking around the yard for him in vain. The tall girl hesitated a few moments, then, seeming to shrug, turned back inside. The elongated rectangle of light that the open door threw across the yard was cut off as she closed the door softly behind her. Strange, he thought, how seldom people tend to look up.** "Now I know your hiding place Will" Alyss smiled at him devilishly. Will was scared, wondering what she would do with that information.

 **There was a rustle of soft feathers and a barn owl landed on the next branch, its head swiveling, its huge eyes catching every last ray of the faint light. It studied him without concern, seeming to know it had nothing to fear from him. It was a hunter. A silent flyer. A ruler of the night.**

 **"At least you know who you are,"** "Yes, a bird" Halt remarked. Will scowled at him, but everyone could see the amused hint in his eyes and laughed. **he said softly to the bird. It swiveled its head again, then launched itself off into the darkness, leaving him alone with his thoughts.**

 **Gradually, as he sat there, the lights in the castle windows went out, one by one. The torches burnt down to smoldering husks and were replaced at midnight by the change of watch. Eventually, there was only one light left burning and that, he knew, was in the Baron's study, where the Lord of Redmont was still presumably at work, poring over reports and papers.** "Tedious work" Arald said as Crowley nodded sympathetically, knowing how boring it was. **The study was virtually level with Will's position in the tree and he could see the burly figure of the Baron seated at his desk. Finally Baron Arald rose, stretched and leaned forward to extinguish the lamp as he left the room, heading for his sleeping quarters on the floor above. Now the castle was asleep, except for the guards on the walls, who kept constant watch.**

 **In less than nine hours, Will realized, he would face the Choosing. Silently, miserably, fearing the worst, he climbed down from the tree and made his way to his bed in the darkened boys' dormitory in the Ward.**

"That's the end" Alyss said. Cassandra sent Will a sympathetic look while Horace looked guilty.


End file.
